


A Wish

by Magical_Awesome_Kid



Series: Lucky Charm [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Inspired by episode 2, Tons of crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-25 09:57:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4955905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magical_Awesome_Kid/pseuds/Magical_Awesome_Kid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was that time of year again.</p><p>And Adrien was dreading it.</p><p>It was something that came around every year.</p><p>Same day.</p><p>Same way.</p><p>It was Adrien’s birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Wish

It was that time of year again.

And Adrien was dreading it.

It was something that came around every year.

Same day.

Same way.

It was Adrien’s birthday.

Above all, it was his sixteenth birthday.

Now, for most teens, this would be a milestone, a time to seize newfound freedom. It was the day that many boy become a man, as some of the other guys in his year joked about. Really, it should have been preceded by nothing else in his day, but this year was really not unlike any of the others.

His day had started with a stern greeting from his father and stiff Happy Birthday. He received a fancy tie in a box, one that he was told he would have to wear to an event that weekend. It was plain white with little black diamonds, and, even if it was tasteful, it really wasn’t Adrien’s style. He thanked the man before Natalie had told him that his car had arrived. With that, his father had left for the rest of the week, a shoot in Milan needing his attention. Natalie was, as usual, probably going to only be attentive enough to make sure he was home and doing homework every afternoon when not at fencing or piano practice.

Truly, it was like many years past. Boring, ordinary, nothing special, much like Adrien himself. Here he was, sitting in class as his gaze rested on the page of his book. Someone was reading a passage in English, but Adrien had drifted off. His English was perfect, after all, and his heart wasn’t in it today. Next to him, Nino had been giving him pitying looks all day. That was the only thing that had been in Adrien’s peripherals. After the fiasco last year where Nino’s reaction had resulted in his transformation, Adrien tried to make sure his friend was at least appeased to some extent. So far, his best friend seemed content.

Even after two years of being at the school, Adrien still had few friends. Nino was still, of course, his best friend. Chloe was… something. A person he knew. Unfortunately, he had seen a lot of her bitter and downright evil side these last few months, and it never settled well with him. He had a few friends on the Fencing team, but they were more sparring buddies than anything, keeping their own clicks. Even within his own class, there was an obvious structure that he was still trying to figure out.

That left only two - Alya and Marinette.

Marinette had started off as this quiet wallflower when he had started, which Nino had said was weird. Apparently, the girl was always bubbly and outgoing before, but she was very shy to Adrien. Adrien had guessed it was because he was new, an awkward addition to the school that’s students seemed to already know one another so well. He was polite to her, never overstepping his boundaries around her, in hopes that he wasn’t causing her too much discomfort.

Alya, however, had been the one to quickly insert the two girls into his life. Alya and Nino lived down the street from one another since they were little, and, if Adrien was to guess, the two had a bit of a bond growing in the romantic way this past year especially. Alya was the outgoing one, constantly encouraging both him and Marinette in her own way.

It was the past year when Marinette had won Adrien’s father’s contest that she began to come out of her shell around him. The way she had outsmarted Chloe without even planning it was brilliant, and it was the first time he had seen her in her element. From there forward, Adrien was able to open up a bit with her, and, in turn, Marinette revealed her more bubbly side to him.

The only other friend he considered himself to have, outside of his Kwami Plagg, was Ladybug.

Ladybug, the heroine of Paris, the dame never in distress, the one to save the day. She was perfect in every way if you were to ask Adrien. Her only crime was that she had stollen the heart of a certain street cat.

But, as much as the two had bonded, they still hardly knew anything about their alter egos. Even after two years, he only knew a few sparse facts about her. Her parents had taught her how to cook and bake. Her favorite color was a rich rose color. She loved chocolate. She liked fashion. After that, however, it was more of their lives on that side of the mask. Constant gossip the two shared about the City of Love on nights where there was no danger to be seen. They fooled around, competing, doing stupid things like teenagers should. Behind the mask of Chat Noir, Adrien was able to let his hair down. Sure, he may have been overdoing it sometime, and he’d learned his lines, but it was all in good fun.

The bell ringing shook him from his thoughts.

“Alright, everyone, read chapter seven tonight and complete the online homework.” The teacher intoned. “Have a good evening!” She added in English as the students packed up. It was the end of the day, a few hours until the end of Adrien’s dumb birthday.

On the bright side, at least there was no attack today.

“Oh, buddy.” Nino commented as he tapped Adrien on the shoulder. Adrien looked over in question as the dark-skinned boy grinned. “We’re still studying for the test tonight, right?”

 _Test?_ Adrien tried to remember which test was tomorrow, but he was drawing a blank. He guessed he had been really out of it today. _Well, at least Nino was there to remind him._ Adrien thought as he packed up. He looked over once again. “Sure. I’ll let Natalie know we’ll be over.”

Nino shook his head. “Nah, let’s head down to the room down the hall. Monsieur Linguini said it was OK.”

Well, of course he would. The teacher, the music teacher, really loved Nino for his talent in the art. “O…Kay?” Adrien added as he picked up his bag. He looked around, ready to bid adieu to Marinette and Alya, but the girls who usually sat behind him were already gone. He tried not to let the sadness rear too much in his face. Not even those two had wished him at least a Happy Birthday that day.

Adrien blindly followed Nino as he texted Natalie and the driver of the limo she sent. He wasn’t paying much attention, just wishing to study and go home already. He wanted to suit up, jump out the window, and run across the town into the night light. The freedom of Chat would be his gift to himself today.

Adrien still looked at his shoes as Nino opened the door. It was dark in the room, which was weird because the teacher rarely closed the window curtains. Adrien glanced up just as something lit up with light.

“Happy Birthday, Adrien!” Nino, Marinette, and Alya cheered as an absolutely gorgeous cake sat smack dab between Marinette and Alya. It was decked in the most decedent white-chocolate frosting from what he could tell - his favorite - as the edges were lined with delicate black and blue flowers. The top of the cake spelled out Happy Birthday Adrien in blue frosting, topping off with sixteen candles around the edges of the round cake.

Adrien’s mouth dropped, his bag falling off his shoulder as Nino expertly caught it. “Well?” Alya grinned as she held up her camera phone, no doubt recording the whole thing for posterity and future enjoyment. “What do you think?”

“Wha…” Adrien managed to stutter out as he approached the cake slowly. He looked at how absolutely perfect it was.

“Isn’t awesome? Marinette baked it.” Nino threw as he tossed his and Adrien’s bag into the corner with Alya’s and Marinette’s.

Marinette blushed. “I mean, I had help from my dad.”

“She’s so modest. She even got macaroons into the middle layer!” Alya added with a grin.

 _Macaroons._ Macaroons were his favorite.

“And presents!” Adrien’s head turned to his best friend. Nino grinned as he held up three packages that had been hidden by the doorway. One was horribly wrapped - probably Nino because that kid could not do crafts to save his life. One was wrapped in his favorite shade of blue with black ribbon while the last was twine and brown wrap.

“After last year, we figured you’d want a more quiet event.” Alya explained.

“Plus, if Chloe caught wind, the whole school would be banging down your door.” Nino noted with a nod of his head.

“Surprise?” Marinette smiled sweetly.

“So?” Alya smirked as Nino came around to the table, Adrien taking a step back to take it all in.

Suddenly, something leaked down his cheek. Alya and Nino looked confused as Marinette actually seemed to shrink back. Adrien touched his cheek.

He was crying.

Then, he was laughing.

He laughed so hard he cried.

Finally, when he caught his breath, he looked to his three friends, the best friends anyone could have. “I… Thank you. Thank you all. You’re the best friends a guy could have.” He dragged his hand across his face, wiping away the tears. He refused to feel bad about crying. These were his friends, and they seemed to just brighten with his proclamation.

“THEN IT’S TIME TO PARTY!” Nino exclaimed.

The three sang him a happy birthday tune - Nino so off-tune it had to make you wonder - but Adrien just laughed and blew out his candles, a wish to be his own secret. Nino pulled out a set of speakers and hooked up his phone, playing a special playlist dedicated to Adrien. Cake was cut, but only after Alya got twenty-some pictures of the cake itself and everyone in front of it. In fact, she never seemed to set the camera down all the party except when the others stole it to return the favor.

Everyone was digging into the cake when it happened. One second, Adrien was complimenting the cake like crazy because it was _like a god’s gift to his pallet_ when something else crossed his mind.

“What about the test?” Adrien asked suddenly, not even knowing the subject.

Nino and Alya both burst into laughter as Marinette, who had been taking a sip of her drink (mostly to hide the blush from Adrien’s love of her cake) giggled into the glass. “We made it up.” Nino shrugged. “You were out of it all day. I was actually worried this morning when we were still trying to figure out a reason to come down here, but you kinda made it easy.”

Adrien snorted. In his head, he added an extra laugh. _So much for being the ever-vigilant Chat Noir._

The little party rolled on for an hour until Alya insisted that he open gifts. Adrien would never admit it, but he was absolutely vibrating with excitement as he was sat down, handed the messiest package first. On the little card, it indicated that it was, of course, from Nino.

Nino had gotten him a custom pair of headphones that he swore by to get the best quality of sound. In addition to this, there was a USB containing the mix from the afternoon party.

The next was the brown paper and twine, turning out to be Alya’s gift. She had gotten him a new case for his phone. It had a very brilliant black and blue pixilated pattern on the back along with a monogramed A in the corner. Her gift also included a gift card to the online store and a screen protector.

The last was a thick package wrapped in his favorite colors. It was Marinette’s gift. Humming with excitement, Adrien took it even as the girl watched him nervously. He unwrapped it gently now, seeing the exactness in every crease that only the most skilled hands could craft. Removing the lid, he gasped.

A series of gorgeous men’s accessories greeted him. He picked out the delicately-stitched black canvas backpack with the blue edging and skillful cat paw prints across the front. He had mentioned, offhandedly once, that his favorite animal was the cat (because duh) followed closely by the ladybug. Sure enough, the next accessory was a grey fedora cap with a red band, stitched with little black dots that seemed to swirl and twirl from the top into the rest of the brim. Each had to have been done by hand if Adrien was to judge. The last was a little charm, that in the shape of a tube, dangling from a silver chain. From left to right, sliding horizontally down, _gentil_ looked back.

 _Kind_.

Adrien was _kind_.

“Damn, girl! You outdid yourself!” Alya exclaimed as Adrien was shocked out of his appreciation of the charm.

“You made these?” Adrien questioned before he felt like hitting himself. She was a designer, of course she would make these.

But all this effort on Adrien?

He didn’t deserve it.

He didn’t deserve them.

Yet, here he was surrounded by his friends as Marinette blushed brilliantly. Alya turned the camera to the girl as Nino shared a conspirator grin with Alya.

Adrien set everything down as he stood. Before anyone knew what was going on, Adrien grabbed all three into a tight hug. “Thank you guys.” He smiled, trying not to cry again even as they returned the favor, hugging back just as tightly. “You’re the best, you know that?”

They broke apart, but Adrien, for some reason, kept his hand on Marinette’s shoulder. He grinned to his fellow year mate, who smiled back brightly. “So… what was your favorite?” Marinette seemed to daringly ask.

“Honestly?” Adrien questioned. “I love the necklace a lot.” He said in a whisper as a grin overtook her features. Off in the corner, he saw Alya and Nino interacting, grinning as the crush seemed to surface. _Man, those two were blind._

He completely missed Marinette’s face go comically blank before a blush overtook her features again.

“You want to wear it now?” She added quickly before she backpedaled. “I mean… you don’t have to… but, it matches with everything and… I’m sorry.”

Adrien turned back to her, shocked. “No, no. I actually want to.” He broke contact to grab it from the box. He came back over, struggling with the clasp.

Marinette giggled as Adrien struggled. “Come here.” She waved as she put her hand out. “You need help.”

Adrien sighed in defeat as he handed it to her. With her nimble, tiny hands, she easily undid the clasp. Adrien bent down to make it easier for her. She buckled his necklace back together as it sat glistening just above the edge of his shirt neckline. “Thanks, Marinette.” He added, again, as he stood up. Marinette’s smile could have lit the whole city of Paris.

Then a flash came into his vision. The two turned to see Alya aiming the camera at them. “Oh! Add the filter that makes them look like clowns!” Nino picked from over her shoulder. “That one! With the stickers!”

“Hey!” The two snapped as Marnette, more used to Alya’s antics, jumped forward, towards the other girl. It was a fight for the phone for the last hour before Nino admitted that he only had the room reserved until then. They slowly wrapped up, cleaning what they had to while Adrien placed all his gifts and the leftover cake into his new bag, one that he planned to debut in class tomorrow.

As they wandered out, Adrien had the biggest grin on his face. He bid his friends farewell as he entered the car, rolling up the divider as Plagg came clear of his backpack. “Ooo! Cake!” The cat Kwami cheered as he peered into Adrien’s new bag.

Adrien laughed at the Kwami, but pulled out a chunk for the cat either way. Plagg’s favorite food was cheese, but nothing beat good cake.

The whole ride home, Adrien just hugged the bag to his chest. The smile on his face never faded.

By far, this had been the best year ever.

And, he hoped, that his wish would come true.

For he had wished that his birthday could always be like this.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know. I was feeling sick and supposed to be doing homework, but then I re-watched episode 2 of Miraculous and...
> 
> Yeah...
> 
> I haven't studied for the past hour.
> 
> I have an exam tomorrow, gosh darn it.
> 
> If I survive, I want to write a second chapter. Until then, this is a stand-alone. I hope you all enjoy it! Kudos and comments are much appreciated!


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